March 23, 2016 Boat chores

 This morning, Cheryl showed me how she makes biscuits using Bisquick or a similar product.  Dave made sausage gravy to go with them.  Yum Yum!

 
Cheryl spent some time researching flights from Eleuthera to Marsh Harbor.  And I spent some time cleaning the boat.  The v-berth was being overgrown with mildew!  I noticed it starting about March 1, but left town, then had Cheryl move aboard.  I couldn’t wait one more day!  i got out my ZEP mildew cleaner.  The last time I used it, my eyes burned that evening.  So today, I put on goggles, gloves and a mask and it went just fine.  Nice to have that done. 

Dave took jerry cans to shore for fuel.  We gave him a list of things to check on.  Post office hours-they were open 9-5, but closed this Friday for Easter.   Taxi for the airport-he got the name of a taxi driver from the gas station. 

We had him look for some boxes for Cheryl to ship some things back to the states.  He found a couple boxes at a grocery store.  He checked them over and gave them a couple shakes.  But as he was walking back to the boat, a cockroach climbed down his arm.  He said it was probably a pretty funny site with him carrying fuel jugs and throwing the boxes in the air.  Needless to say, he threw them away.  We have been told forever that cockroaches lay eggs in the cardboard.  And there was living proof.

Cheryl talked to the guy in the Abacos with the catamaran again and they decided to connect through the “work to stay” deal.  He just wanted another person on board to help him raise and lower sails, anchor, and watch for rocks and coral heads in the shallow waters.  His 44 foot catamaran sounds really nice.  Cheryl will get spoiled on that boat.  It even has electric pumps for the head!

Tonight, I reviewed the Exumas Islands with Cheryl.  I just showed her where we had anchored.  And I showed her the places we enjoyed exploring by dinghy and snorkeling.  She felt better getting to know the lay out of the islands.  She also booked her flights.   We also shared a couple Gin & Tonics to celebrate her new adventure and that I finished cleaning the v-berth.  We’re running out of excuses for our happy hours. 

March 22, 2016 www.worktostay.info

Dave and I needed to do laundry.  We broke down and went to shore.  $3/machine wasn’t too bad.  The least we have seen in the Bahamas is $5/machine.  So we splurged and did 2 loads.  We had fun visiting with “Showboat”, the owner.  He was an international softball player and got his nickname from being a show off. 

While we were in town, Cheryl did some research for her next plan.  Another sailing friend of ours had told us about a website where you can find a place to stay in exchange for work on land and sea.  The site is www.worktostay.info.  There were two that interested her.  One was helping build a dive hostel in Cozumel.  Cheryl has been diving in Cozumel 9 times and was a dive instructor.  The other was for crew on a catamaran sailboat.  There was a guy in the Abacos that wanted help moving his boat to the Exumas.  She researched what she could about this guy and found that the two of them had one mutual friend on Facebook.  It was the guy we knew that told us about this website.  So we called him and he assured us that this was a great guy.  So Cheryl signed up for the program and sent him her information.  She even talked to him before we returned.  Sounded like a great opportunity for her.  

March 21, 2016 Battens with roller furling main

Today was a lazy day of playing cribbage and triominos for me and Cheryl.  Dave started projects outside. 

One of the pockets that holds the battens in our main sail had a hole worn through from the corner of the batten.  Dave wanted to repair it before it enlarged to the point where we could lose the batten.  For non sailors, a batten helps stiffen and shape the main sail.  It is a long strip of flexible fiberglass in the shape of a yard stick.  We have four in different lengths.  In a sail that is raised and lowered, the battens are horizontal.  But in a main sail that is rolled into the mast, like ours, the battens are vertical.  Hence the possibility of it coming out of the slot.  Not all furling main sails have battens like ours.  In stronger winds, you reef a main by making it smaller to hold less wind in it.  The important thing to remember with a furling main is to not reef the main with part of a batten furled inside the main and part outside and movable.   If the batten is not fully out, it could break.

I was cleaning the forward head this morning (Cheryl cleaned the aft head that she was using.  After a week your are crew, not a guest).  Cheryl was available to hoist Dave up the mast to start his project.  He had to go high enough to take the batten out.  Then she lowered him to the point where he could sew the bottom of the batten pocket.  We left him hanging there and went back inside.  The sewing was about 3/4 completed when a squall was approaching.  This time, I lowered him to safety.  After the storm passed, he just stood on the boom to finish the sewing.

Dave covered the end of the batten with duct tape before replacing it in the pocket.  I then raised him back to the height he needed to replace the batten.  The top of the batten sleeve has a strip of real tough velcro that has to be tucked inside to lock the batten in place.   Of course I lowered him to the deck when the project was completed. 
          
Dave and I made Tom Yum Thai Curry for dinner that was excellent.  We had brought the paste in Florida at an Oriental market.   We added vegetables and pork and served it over Asian noodles.  It had an excellent Thai spice that I would say was a 2+ in a 1-3 scale.

 

March 20, 2016 St Ann's catholic church Rock Sound Eleuthera

Cheryl decided to go to church with me this morning.  Cheryl also took a load of laundry to 3T’s, so we left early.  She dropped them off and asked “Showboat” if he would move them to the dryer for her.  He would if she promised to pray for him. 

The church was St Ann’s, which is the name of the church I grew up in.  We had a Palm Sunday procession outside along the side of the church, to the parking lot and back inside.  Part way though the mass, a cat came into the church from behind the altar and walked out across the altar, down a few rows and back onto the altar.  Then an altar boy picked him up and took him back outside.  Funny.
Hopefully, this video works.
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bell at church

 
After mass, we met Debbie and Fred from Cincinnati.  They are on the sailboat Early Out.  Nice couple about our age.  They had sailed here from the Exumas because there aren’t very many Catholic churches there.  And they planned to spend the holy week here. 

We thought we were going to leave for Cat Island on Monday, but we decided to stay in Rock Sound to work on projects and wait out bad weather.  Another reason to stay was that I could be near a church for Easter Sunday.  I found out later, just because there is a church located in a town doesn’t mean there will be a priest for mass.  We moved the boat across Rock Sound Harbour to west side for better protection from the winds.

March 19, 2016 Rock Sound exploring

I woke up just before sunrise and could hear an orchestra of roosters on shore.  I couldn’t imagine how it would sound if you were on shore closer to them.  Later that morning, we motor sailed to Rock Sound about 25nm south.
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Cheryl and I took the dinghy to shore to explore the town.  I gave Cheryl lessons on driving the dinghy.  We also checked the anchor by looking through our clear bottomed bucket. 

I wanted to find the catholic church and find out the time of their Sunday mass.  Of course it wasn’t located where I saw it on a map online.  So we asked directions from the next person we saw.  He wanted to just give us a ride there, but he was on his way to something.  So he gave us detailed instructions for the 3-4 blocks we had to walk.  He made it sound more complicated than it was. 

We found the church along the main road we were on when we came into town.  The sign on the door said 9:00am Sunday mass.  Now we walked back towards the dinghy dock.  We stopped at a gas station that also had many services.  They listed laundry, so we went in to ask about it.  They provided a laundry service with a 24 hour turnaround time.  But there was also a laundromat back where we had just come from.  So we walked back to 3T’s to find out the details.  Cheryl hadn’t washed clothes in about 2 weeks.  And some of that was warm winter clothes that would take forever to dry on the boat.  We met the owner, “Showboat”.  The machines were $3 each and he would be open on Sunday. 

As we were heading back to the dinghy dock again, we saw a sign for an “ocean hole”.  I had seen it on a map.  It looked like a round inland lake.  We asked a group of teenaged girls on the street if it was far.  Since it was only a couple blocks, we decided to check it out.  It did look like a round lake with park area around it.  But the sign said it was 600 feet deep with connections to the ocean.  We could see salt water fish in the water.  Pretty cool.
 
We finally headed back to the boat and took showers off the stern after a short swim.  We had worked up a sweat hiking around town.

we had to duck under this wire as we walked down the street

March 18, 2016 Governor's Harbor Fish Fry and drone invasion

Today we motor sailed to Governors Harbor about 25nm south. We all went to shore together in the dinghy.  Dave took two diesel jerry cans to buy fuel.  He went back to boat with the fuel and to “tinker”.  Cheryl and I walked through town.  We were impressed with the produce in the grocery store.  It was better than in Hopetown.  We checked out shipping costs for Cheryl to ship some of her belongings back to the states.  Sounds like the post office will be the cheapest route.  And each package can only be 22 pounds.  We found the tourist office and picked up some information about Eleuthera and Governors Harbor.  Next we toured their library.  It is in a beautiful 100 year old building that reminded you of an old one room school house.  We looked through the Nassau newspaper to catch up on the outside world.  Didn’t miss much.  Sure glad we aren’t listening to Presidential campaigns everyday. 

We found out from a couple people that there was a fish fry every Friday night.  One of our chart books mentioned it, but not which restaurant.  That’s because it is held on the beach.   It started at 6:00.  And since it was only about 5:00, Cheryl and I asked someone where we could find a bar.  They directed us to Ronnie’s bar for the coldest beer in town.  We sat right at the bar and were treated to some local flavor.  This was where the guys hung out after work on Friday to harass each other.  We just laughed at them because we couldn’t follow their conversation, even though they were speaking English.  Beers were much cheaper here than in the Abacos.  Kind of like buying beer in Miller, SD vs Minneapolis, MN.  Everyone made us feel welcome.

We met Dave at the fish fry on the beach about 6:00.  There were grills outside cooking chicken and pork chops.  And there was a fire with a pan of boiling oil frying the fish.  There was a building that was a step above a food stand where they served the food and drinks.  On the beach there were 2 separate tables.  One was serving conch salad made as you ordered it.  The other had desserts.  Dave had his own bowl of conch salad before we arrived.  Then Cheryl and I shared a bowl as we waited for our dinner orders.  The man making the conch salad told Dave that he uses all the parts of the conch in his salad.  And that will help him with his sex life!  We also bought coconut and pineapple tarts for dessert.  The meals had your meat choice served on a bed of rice and peas.  Then you also had 2 sides.  All for $13.  They had picnic tables set up on the deck of the building and on the beach.  We sat with a lady and her son that were here in a vacation rental.  She had spent a lot of time on sailboats before her 8 year old son came along. 

They also closed off the street beside the beach for a dance floor.  They had a sound system set up with DJ music.  We left shortly after eating, but could “enjoy” the music from our boat until after midnight. 

We had a new experience in Governor’s Harbor.  Shortly after we anchored, a drone came flying out to our boat and hovered over it.  Dave noticed it, waved at it to leave, and it left.  He checked the shoreline and thought he saw a guy controlling it from behind the door of a van.  That was pretty strange.  You really feel vulnerable.  Are they checking out what you have on your boat that they can steal?  If we weren’t on the boat, would they check to see if it was locked?  Something people should be aware of.

 we passed by the entrance to Hatchet Bay cut through the rock, maybe next time

Dave made two trips for diesel

100 year old library

we're the only boat in the harbor

chicken and pork on the grills

frying the fish over an open fire

now that's fresh conch salad

March 17, 2016 Glass Window, Eleuthera

We had a relaxing morning eating pancakes made by Cheryl.  Then we sailed across the northern part of the Exuma Sound to the Glass window.  This was a natural land bridge between the deep dark blue ocean side of Eleuthera with crashing waves and the calm aqua blue shallow waters of the Exuma Sound.  Over the years, the land bridge was destroyed and a bridge was built. 
Cheryl and I took the dinghy to shore and spent a couple hours exploring.  We hiked up the hillside from the beach to the road.  We could hear an odd sound of water crashing inside a cave.  Then we came across a hole in the ground about 6 inches in diameter near the road.  You could hear the booming under ground and then the water would spout out of this hole like a geyser.  We tried to video it, but it didn’t do it justice. 

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We climbed around the rocks for a couple hours.  Just beyond the bridge, on the north side, there was an area that opened up and had several natural tide pools called the Queen’s baths.  A couple were large enough to sit in.  Others were small pools of salt where the water had evaporated.  At first they looked like frost to us.  We enjoyed just sitting and watching the crashing waves and the color changes in the water. 

salt crystals dried in the shallow pool

 

our boat all by ourselves

view of the Glass Window from our boat with water spilling over from the ocean side

Back at the boat, we decided to have a few cocktails before dinner in honor of St Patrick’s Day.  We thought of our son, Peter.  He plays in an Irish band, The River Liffey Boys, and was surely having a grand time back in Rapid City.  Brilliant!!